FCV Dender have not experienced top-flight football in Belgium since the 2008/09 season, which was the year they were relegated to the second division. However, this was not the end of the trouble for Dender. A few seasons later, they were relegated to the third tier, which is considered amateur football in Belgium.
Since February of 2023, the club has been managed by 47-year-old former Belgian international Timmy Simons, with the former Zulte-Waregem manager currently on pace to grab the second automatic promotion spot in the Challenger Pro League with Dender. They are currently second, and a win on the final match day will seal promotion back to the top flight. This tactical analysis will take a more detailed look at Simons’ tactics this season at Dender and the ways in which they have been successful in all phases of the game.
Formations
Throughout the course of this Challenger Pro League campaign, Simons has tended to set Dender up in either a back three or back five formation. The starting formation has changed depending on the opponent, but it tends to be either a 3-4-1-2 or a 5-3-2, with the starting shape also being a 3-4-2-1 during some matches.
Looking to prioritise forward progression while in possession
When watching Dender from an in possession perspective under Timmy Simons, it is hard to miss the prioritisation of advanced ball progression when Dender are in possession. Dender look to attempt and hold possession against most opponents, with the Belgian side averaging just over 50% possession this season in the Belgian second tier.
The data viz graphic above shows the progressive passes of Dender this season, with Timmy Simon’s side at the top of the Challenger Pro League in both progressive passes (2,434) and long passes (1,750). Most of these progressive passes into the penalty area have occurred from the wide channels and both half spaces, with Simons looking for his side to attack with both width and depth.
The centre-backs tend to be heavily involved in progressing the ball quickly between the lines, with Dender tending to have just a single pivot holding to help the three centre-backs when they are looking to progress play from the back. However, this single pivot tends to be the Dender captain and #10 Lennard Hens, with the 26-year-old Belgian leading the Challenger Pro League in through passes played. Also, centre-back Jeodrick Pupe has the second most long passes played in the division, showing his impact in progressing the ball forward from the backline, highlighting how these four have a huge impact in advancing attacks for Dender.
We can see from the image above the shape that Dender looks to set up in when they are in possession with their centre-backs and looking to progress the ball. The 3-1 shape can be made out, with Hens sitting in front of the back three as a single pivot. Further forward, the wide midfielders look to hold the width, and both hold advanced positions, while Dender’s other two central midfielders look to operate in the half-spaces.
This almost 3-1-6 attacking shape tends to keep opposition sides pinned back defensively and allows the Dender centre-backs time on the ball to assess their options and play the ball between themselves, looking to tire out opposition sides and force them to react. The ball side wide midfielder will drop slightly deeper to receive possession, though it tends to then be recycled back to the centre-backs as they look for line breaking passes further forward in midfield.
This figure above shows how this attacking move progresses for Dender against Deinze. After a bit of ball circulation between the far-side wide midfielder and the centre-backs, the ball finds its way to Pupe, with off-the-ball movements further advanced in the midfield, looking to create gaps and pull the Deinze defenders around and out of shape.
The wide midfielder on this near side, Fabio Ferraro, drops deep, but not as an option to receive the ball. Ferraro’s movement takes the opposition midfielder with him while central midfielder Desmond Acquah looks to move into the space Ferraro vacated, again dragging a Deinze player with him and subsequently opening a pocket of space.
However, none of these players are who Pupe is looking to play. Their off-the-ball movements are just decoys to open up this pocket of space centrally. The real target is one of the forwards dropping off the back line into this space, with Jordy Soladio doing just that. The ensuing pass from the centre-back finds the feet of the forward, breaking two lines of opposition pressure and allowing Dender to progress the ball forward.
This in-possession phase of play against Zulte-Waregem illustrates the off-ball movements that Simon’s side excels at in advanced areas of the pitch. Gilles Ruyssen is in possession, with the 29-year-old centre-back under no pressure from the front three of Zulte-Waregem. This allows him time on the ball to assess his options and wait for the advanced movements before playing a forward ball.
Further forward in the midfield areas, Hens is occupying a more advanced position, with Stefano Marzo, the right-sided wide midfielder, dropping deeper to support Ruyssen in possession. Marzo’s movement drags the opposition wing-back with him, opening up a pocket of space behind the Zulte-Waregem backline. Hens is able to notice the pocket and makes a run beyond the backline. At the same time, forward Bruny Nsimba drops to occupy Hens’s position, preventing the opposition midfielder from tracking the Dender captain into the defence. This allows Ruyssen to play a long ball over the top for Hens to run onto, with Dender able to gather possession in the final third.
As this section has been able to show, under Timmy Simons, FCV Dender have become one of the more exciting possession sides in the Challenger Pro League, with their quick forward ball progression principles and movements off the ball causing plenty of trouble for opposition defences.
How have they created goalscoring chances?
Dender is not just a side that looks to be stylistic with the ball but then lacks the end product. In fact, Timmy Simons’s side are the highest goal scorers in the Challenger Pro League this season, with 52 goals scored. Looking at some of their key attacking statistics compared to other Challenger Pro League sides this season, Dender have the third most shots (416), fifth most crosses (519), and fourth most touches in the penalty area (467).
The graphic above gives a more detailed look at the shot selection of Dender this season, and we can see that the majority of their big goalscoring chances have occurred within the confines of the 18-yard box, more specifically in the central areas, while their attacking prowess inside the six-yard box is less prevalent. They also look to attempt plenty of shots from outside of the penalty area, with the majority of these shots either being off target or blocked; though, with that being said, they have scored a few goals from distance as well as put quite a few on target.
As discussed earlier in this tactical analysis, Dender looks to attack the wide channels relatively frequently, with the Challenger Pro League side having one of the highest total crosses attempted in the Belgian second tier this season. This attacking phase starts with the ball in possession of the centre-backs, with a long ball played over the top into the feet of Acquah, who found himself unmarked in the half-space.
As he drives towards the edge of the penalty area, Ferraro makes an overlapping run beyond the attacking midfielder, which prevents the opposition defender from becoming overly aggressive in closing down Acquah. Meanwhile, in the central areas, Nsimba and Soladio are looking to pin the centre-backs deep with their runs towards the penalty area, while Marzo on the far side looks to keep the far-side wing-back occupied.
This resulted in a 3v3 for Dender, with Hens left unmarked as the Belgian midfielder made a late run towards the penalty box. The ensuing cross from Acquah was headed back into Hens’s path by Soladio, with the club captain’s first-time shot not ending up far away.
The image above shows a similar situation from a chance creation perspective for Dender. A long diagonal ball is played from the opposite touchline to the wide midfielder positioned just outside this nearside half space. Notice again how Simons’s side has an attacking line of four, all high and wide, which can pin the opposition’s backline deep and prevent them from stepping out. This also forms a gap between the defensive and midfield lines of Zulte-Waregem, with Dender able to take advantage.
As the ball reaches the wide midfielder, it is headed first time centrally, where Hens is able to find himself in a pocket of space to receive the ball uncontested and drive towards the penalty area. With the opposition wing-back looking to tightly man-mark the wide player, the backline of Zulte-Waregem gets slightly stretched, allowing Hens to gather possession and drive into the area. This splits the left-sided wing-back and the left-sided centre-half, with the Belgian midfielder able to get a shot off on target.
Out-of-possession principles
Next, we will take a more detailed look at the defensive principles of Dender under Timmy Simons. The Challenger Pro League side is also one of the better defensive teams in the Belgian second tier. Their 32 goals conceded are the fourth-lowest in the Challenger Pro League, while their 1.02 conceded per 90 minutes are also the fourth-lowest in the Challenger Pro League.
The graphic above shows the defensive territory of Dender this season. When it comes to defensive actions in the attacking half, most of them have occurred in the wide areas, with there being a noticeable absence of either interceptions or fouls in the central advanced areas of the pitch. A lot of this comes from their pressing style, with Timmy Simons’s side being one of the most aggressive pressing sides in the league.
Their PPDA of 8.44 is the second highest in the Challenger Pro League, behind only title winners Beerschot, while their challenge intensity of 6.3 is the third highest in the division. As the graphic shows, Dender do not tend to operate with a high initial line of confrontation, with Simons’s side tending to allow opposition sides to build between their centre-backs before forcing the ball into the half spaces and out wide in more advanced positions, where they will then look for triggers to activate their pressing.
This image above shows a pressing phase from Dender, and the work they put in out of possession in order to prevent central progression from opposition sides. In this specific moment, the Dender defensive shape allows the opposition centre-backs to have the ball, with the forwards sitting off to allow them to circulate the ball between themselves, waiting for a pressing trigger to engage.
As the right-sided centre-back dribbles towards the near touchline and his body shape becomes closed off, this triggers the press, with the forward putting him under pressure and the rest of the Dender defence shifting to lock the ball to the nearside and prevent central progression. With no clear passing option, this forces the centre-back to turn and face his own goal, allowing the rest of the Dender shape to push up to keep the ball from reaching their defensive half.
In regards to a defensive shape for Dender, once the opposition gather possession and begin to possess inside the attacking half, Simon’s side opt to set up in a low-to-mid block defensive shape. This image above shows how the shape typically looks like during their match against Club Brugge Nxt. As we can see, Dender are sitting in a 5-3 shape, with the two forwards staying high to be outlet balls in case possession were to turn over in this area of the pitch.
Dender want to stay tight and compact, with any potential balls played towards their backline repelled away by the centre-backs. They tend to stay disciplined, not getting pulled around the pitch or out of shape when the ball gets switched side to side by the opposition. In this specific phase of play, Club Brugge Nxt eventually look to play a through ball after getting frustrated by Dender’s defensive shape, with the centre-back playing a first-time clearance out towards the two forwards, whose job is to hold the ball up and allow the defence to step up and relieve pressure.
Conclusion
As this tactical analysis has shown, Dender have become a very entertaining side since the appointment of Timmy Simons. The former Belgian international has them on the cusp of returning to the Belgian Pro League for the first time in over a decade, with a win on the final day enough to seal their return.
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